Try Not to Be Strange

Author: Michael Hingston
Publisher: Biblioasis
ISBN: 1771964162
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 357

Book Description
Shortlisted for the 2023 Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize On his fifteenth birthday, in the summer of 1880, future science-fiction writer M.P. Shiel sailed with his father and the local bishop from their home in the Caribbean out to the nearby island of Redonda—where, with pomp and circumstance, he was declared the island’s king. A few years later, when Shiel set sail for a new life in London, his father gave him some advice: Try not to be strange. It was almost as if the elder Shiel knew what was coming. Try Not to Be Strange: The Curious History of the Kingdom of Redonda tells, for the first time, the complete history of Redonda’s transformation from an uninhabited, guano-encrusted island into a fantastical and international kingdom of writers. With a cast of characters including forgotten sci-fi novelists, alcoholic poets, vegetarian publishers, Nobel Prize frontrunners, and the bartenders who kept them all lubricated while angling for the throne themselves, Michael Hingston details the friendships, feuds, and fantasies that fueled the creation of one of the oddest and most enduring micronations ever dreamt into being. Part literary history, part travelogue, part quest narrative, this cautionary tale about what happens when bibliomania escapes the shelves and stacks is as charming as it is peculiar—and blurs the line between reality and fantasy so thoroughly that it may never be entirely restored.

Micronations

Author: Mohammad Bahareth
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1462069266
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Book Description
What is a Micro Nation? A micro nation can actually be referred to as new country project or a model country. The definition of a micro nation is thus rendered: "An entity that resembles a nation or a state, but which for the most part exists only on paper, on the Internet, or in the mind of its creator." Also referred to as: "Model countries and new country projects -- are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are unrecognized by world governments or major international organizations." Different reasons exist why micro nations are created some being extremely serious whereas others are as a result of a hobby. There are however very genuine micro nations which are made of an entire community or tribe. These small entities almost always exist as replicas of real nations as opposed to existing states. We can therefore say that these are small nations with a small geographical area as well as populations. The term micro nation can also be used synonymously with the term Fifth nation which also refers to social identity groups. Compared to micronations are macronations which are significantly larger and enjoy some territorial recognition and these are referred to as Fourth world nations. You will find many secessionist or self determination groups counted among macronations. It is also very easy to confuse micronations with those tiny nations that are recognized legitimately. These geographically small counties include countries such as Monaco, Fiji and San Marino. Micronations should not be confused with legitimately recognized, but geographically tiny nations such as Fiji, Monaco, and San Marino, for which the term microstate is more accurate and descriptive. In this book you will read about: * Overview and introduction * Categories of Micronations * List of Small Microstates * List of Physical Micronations * Top Ten Out of the Ordinary Micronations * The Most Famous Micronations * The Newest Kids on the Block * How You Can Start Your Own Micronation

Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty

Author: Harry Hobbs
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009156950
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 501

Book Description
Political disagreement is a fact of life. It can prompt people to stand for public office and agitate for political change. Others take a different route; they start their own nation. Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty is the first comprehensive examination of the phenomenon of people purporting to secede and create their own country. It analyses why micronations are not states for the purposes of international law, considers the factors that motivate individuals to separate and found their own nation, examines the legal justifications that they offer and explores the responses of recognised sovereign states. In doing so, this book develops a rich body of material through which to reflect on conventional understandings of statehood, sovereignty and legitimate authority. Authored in a lively and accessible style, Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty will be valuable reading for scholars and general audiences.

Surveying the American Tropics

Author: Maria Cristina Fumagalli
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN: 178138794X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 377

Book Description
A collection of essays from distinguished international scholars that explore the idea of a literary geography of the American Tropics.

The Penguin Modern Classics Book

Author: Henry Eliot
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241441617
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 2282

Book Description
The essential guide to twentieth-century literature around the world For six decades the Penguin Modern Classics series has been an era-defining, ever-evolving series of books, encompassing works by modernist pioneers, avant-garde iconoclasts, radical visionaries and timeless storytellers. This reader's companion showcases every title published in the series so far, with more than 1,800 books and 600 authors, from Achebe and Adonis to Zamyatin and Zweig. It is the essential guide to twentieth-century literature around the world, and the companion volume to The Penguin Classics Book. Bursting with lively descriptions, surprising reading lists, key literary movements and over two thousand cover images, The Penguin Modern Classics Book is an invitation to dive in and explore the greatest literature of the last hundred years.

A Companion to Javier Marías

Author: David K. Herzberger
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 1855662302
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
A detailed and lively discussion and analysis of the novels, short stories, newspaper columns, and other works of one of the most important and popular writers in Spain today. This book provides the most comprehensive study to date of the full range of Marías' writing, including discussion and analysis of his literary and intellectual formation, his development as a novelist and short story writer, andhis unique perspective offered in nearly twenty-five years of newspaper columns on topics ranging from religion to football. Above all, Marías is examined as a writer of fictions. As a translator of several canonical works from English to Spanish, Marías came to appreciate the preciseness of words as well as their ambiguity, their capacity to represent as well as their propensity to distort. The author examines Marías's constant awareness of how languagecan be used to construct stories as the foundation for engaging the world as well as for imagining it. The nature of Marías's storytelling, and the way in which he imagines, form the principal focus of this Companion. David K. Herzberger is Professor and Chair of the Department of Hispanic Studies at the University of California, Riverside.

The Quest for M.P. Shiel's Realm of Redonda

Author: Albert Reynolds Morse
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Montserrat
Languages : en
Pages : 178

Book Description

Atlas of Improbable Places

Author: Travis Elborough
Publisher: Aurum Press
ISBN: 0711264015
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Book Description
Atlas of Improbable Places shows the modern world from surprising new vantage points that will inspire urban explorers and armchair travellers alike to consider a new way of understanding the world we live in.

Chronicles of a Liquid Society

Author: Umberto Eco
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0544974573
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 345

Book Description
The acclaimed author examines our contemporary world—from technology to politics and pop culture—in this collection of essays written for L’Espresso. Umberto Eco was an international cultural superstar. In this, his last collection, the celebrated essayist and novelist observes the changing world around him with irrepressible curiosity and philosophical insight. He illuminates the contemporary upheaval in ideological values, the crises in politics, and the unbridled individualism that have become the backdrop of our lives—creating a “liquid” society that defies any organizing principle. In these pieces, written for his regular column in the Italian magazine L’Espresso, Eco brings his dazzling erudition and keen sense of the everyday to bear on topics such as being seen, conspiracies, the old and the young, mass media, racism, and good manners. It is “a swan song from one of Europe’s great intellectuals…[Eco] entertains with his intellect, humor, and insatiable curiosity” (Kirkus Reviews). “An intelligent, intriguing, and often hilariously incisive set of observations on contemporary follies and changing mores.” —Publishers Weekly

The Gentleman's Bedside Companion

Author: Tom Cutler
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101514787
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 286

Book Description
Delightful Things to Read About Before the Snoring Starts Have you ever found that once you are between the sheets, Madame Bovary is too heavy, magazines are too slippery, and Crime and Punishment is too long? The Gentleman's Bedside Companion is the answer-a bracing collection of information, humor, and curiosities that will help every man make his mark on the world with panache. Spanning the arts, sciences, sports, and the opposite sex, topics include: Bananas as proof of God's existence Great bits from the Bible Famous painters and how they died The Monkees, a potted history All about submarines Useful foreign pickup lines An international swearing dictionary Let the horizontal reading begin. Watch a Video